Cultural References

Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown is the title character in a series of Donald J. Sobol children's books about a boy detective. He investigates the tough cases his police chief father presents to him or has been unable to solve, much like our petite heroine. Veronica advises Kelvin to look up the brown-eyed P.I. when she refuses his case.

"...coverage of the Lilly Kane murder, the press made you out to be some kind of Barney Fife character."

Keith is reminded in a television interview that during his final days as Neptune's sheriff, he was treated much like the loyal but incompetent deputy of Mayberry. Keith takes it all in stride and refrains from jumping up and shouting, "Those bastards! I never accidentally discharged my revolver or dated a woman named Thelma Lou. And I was the friggin' sheriff, man."

Bloody Logan Echolls. That's not a comment, it's a fact — the boy lies battered and bleeding in Veronica's arms in the style of Michaelangelo's "Pieta." The great Renaissance man's name must proceed the title, for "Pieta" on it's own is any piece of work that depicts Mary cradling the dead body of Christ. Michaelangelo's "Pieta" is a sculpture that currently resides in the Vatican. Considered by some to be the artist's greatest work, it is the only piece he signed, allegedly in a hissy fit when the work was attributed to one of his contemporaries. Exactly what hissy fit led to bloody Logan Echolls is a different story.

Wallace reminds Veronica that she's not channeling the 19th century super-sleuth when she tells him he doesn't do drugs, something he kinda knows already. Give her a break, Wallace — she hasn't been doing the teen girl-detective thing all summer. Wallace uses the clean version of this popular expression — the "adult" version substitutes another word for "duh." Were the writers worried about the censors? How ironic that these same censors allowed The Shocker on camera with no question.

Like Michael Corleone, Veronica learns how difficult getting out of the family business can be. Though there are no horse heads or contract killings to denounce, going legit is still harder than she imagined, especially when BFF Wallace makes her an offer she can't refuse.

Keith's playful dinner request is reminiscent of the tortured character John Bender and his abusive father's demands for food, as seen in the 1985 Brat Pack classic. Fortunately for Veronica, Keith leaves out the obscenities and cruel insults.

"Butters?"
"'Butters' is the name of the weak, loser suck-up on South Park. 'Butters' implies soft, fat—"
"But oh so delicious."

Butters Stotch is a gullible but good-hearted character on television's South Park. He's often picked on by other kids, and he has a domineering, somewhat scary father. Our Butters, or Vincent, as he prefers, got pantsed — some sadistic kid yanked his pants down — in a gym full of laughing students, and his father is none other than the brooding Vice Principal Van Clemmons. Poor kid. No wonder Butters is so bitter.

"There's no eraser marks, no whiteout, and both hand-signed by Jim Chimory."
"Jim Chimory?"
"That's the guy's name, the lab tech who signed off on the results."

If the name conjures up images of Mary Poppins and chimney sweeps, be not alarmed. "Chim Chimery" is a famous song from the movie musical, performed by a dancing and crooning Dick Van Dyke. Much more pleasant than Jim, the unseen urine man...er, the bad guy behind the tainted drug test results.

Dick warns his younger brother that he's quite capable of recreating the tragic events that form the story's backdrop. Except…it's the older brother who dies. And the brother dies in a boating accident. And he was beloved by family and friends alike. Dick must have missed English class the day his teacher told him he actually had to read the books listed on the class syllabus.

"So where did your dad meet her?"
"She was a Laker Girl and...you know my dad. He has good seats."

Don't call them cheerleaders! Even though the Laker Girls work at every Los Angeles Lakers basketball game, smiling, kicking, and...cheering for their team, they prefer to be known as dancers. As Logan ogles Dick's stepmom, he asks how Kendall and Big Dick hooked up. Maybe Logan wants reassurance that Kendall wasn't the kind of dancer who uses a pole. Just kidding. He probably wouldn't mind a bit.

Clutch the pearls! This obscene hand gesture is the latest craze of high school students who have nothing better to do than demonstrate the…uh…versatility of their fingers as they pantomime their ability to…uh…digitize several body parts at once. Logan and Dick slap each other a high three and have a good laugh over Logan's upcoming exploits.

"I figured you and the other Jets would be rumbling with the Sharks. "
"Cool it, Action. "

Duncan likens the class tensions in Neptune to the racial divide in the popular play and movie. Logan reminds Duncan that they're still on the same team and that Duncan's words are perhaps a little on the dramatic side. I mean, come on. No one's died…oh, right. Except for that Felix kid. Never mind.

"It's like, you know, what Willy Wonka would be like if he owned a professional baseball team."

Willy Wonka is the fictitious and bizarre chocolate factory owner in Roald Dahl's children's books, which were made into several movies. His candy factory is staffed by Oompa Loompas, foreign dwarves who work under sweatshop-like conditions for cacao beans. Duncan sees similarities between Woody Goodman and this confectionary giant. Is it Woody's boyish charm, his slightly pretentious friendliness, or is Duncan simply jonesin' for a king-sized chocolate bar?

"So, did you like your taste? Your little year of living dangerously?"

Weevil compares Veronica's investigation of Lilly's murder to the story of a foreign journalist who spends a year in Indonesia uncovering an underground coup attempt. Both involve lies and help from local citizens. Unlike Mel Gibson, however, Veronica never has an affair with one of her compatriots. Maybe Weevil is upset that Veronica's year didn't include a little taste of his danger.